Folks
The IETF has generally steered clear of political entanglements, which I
think wise. Nonetheless, I raise the question of whether we should respond
to the proposed U.S. ban on nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan,
Syria, Yemen.
Scott Aaronson reports one of his MIT students will probably have to leave
if he can't get his visa removed. We all know how many Iranians are
world-class technologists, including in computer science and electrical
engineering.
I hope many from outside the United States speak up. The issues around
Trump make it hard to be objective here.
Should we take a stand?
If so, should it be symbolic or substantive?
Symbolic actions could include:
- A resolution
- Establishing remote hubs for our meetings in Iran and one of the
Arabic speaking countries. ISOC has funded remote hubs.
- Outreach in Farsi and Arabic to show that whatever actions the
government takes, the IETF welcomes participation. This could be as simple
as Jari Arkko writing a letter to the editor of the leading newspapers with
an invitation for all to join our work.
Some might also think that we should move the July 2018 meeting from San
Francisco to a location accessible to more of our members, perhaps to
Mexico or Canada.
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As we discuss this, I urge everyone to avoid distracting comments about
U.S. politics. We're not going to change many minds here pro or con the new
U.S. President.
Instead, let's keep the discussion here to how we should respond to a major
nation refusing visas to so many of our members.
Dave Burstein
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Editor, Fast Net News, 5GW News, Net Policy News and DSL Prime
Author with Jennie Bourne DSL (Wiley) and Web Video: Making It Great,
Getting It Noticed (Peachpit)